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The ancient Hittite tablet features cuneiform text in both Hittite and Hurrian languages, with the Hittite inscription recounting the onset of war and the Hurrian inscription constituting a prayer for victory.	Source: Kimiyoshi Matsumura/Japanese Institute of Anatolian Archaeology

Clay Tablet From 3,300-Years Ago Tells Story of the Siege and Plunder of Four Hittite Cities

A 3,300-year-old clay tablet unearthed in central Turkey has painted a tale of a devastating foreign invasion of the Hittite Empire during a period of internal strife and civil war. As the civil war...
The hidden mysteries and ancient understandings of Tarot and the Bembine tablet.

Cracking the Code to Discover Ancient Tarot Symbolism and Forgotten Universal Knowledge

How old is the Tarot? This is a question that seems easy to answer today. As playing cards, we can confidently map the Tarot to the early 15th century. Mystery solved? Well, it’s not quite that...
Plimpton 322 clay tablet. Source: Public Domain.

Were the Ancient Babylonians Far More Advanced Than We Thought? (Video)

Plimpton 322 , a 3,800-year-old ancient clay tablet, stands as a testament to the astounding mathematical prowess of the Babylonians. Dating back centuries before ancient Greece, this artifact...
Model reproduction of the Dispilio tablet at the prehistoric lakeside settlement of Dispilio in northern Greece. Source: Мико / CC BY-SA 4.0

The Dispilio Tablet and the Real Origins of Writing

Conventional archaeology claims that writing was not invented until some time between 3000 and 4000 BC in Sumeria . However, the discovery of a far older artifact in northern Greece appears to...
The Tower of Babel. Source: Александр Михальчук / CC BY-SA 4.0

Gateway to the Heavens: The Assyrian Account of the Tower of Babel

The story of the fabled Tower of Babel from the Book of Genesis has come to inspire artists throughout history and to symbolize the idea of human ambition. Once a real-life ziggurat at the center of...
Dr. Margaret Maitland, Principal Curator of the Ancient Mediterranean at National Museums Scotland, with the recently discovered ancient Greek graduate yearbook. Source: National Museums Scotland

Ancient Greek ‘Graduate Yearbook’ Discovered in Scottish Vault

An unknown ancient Greek marble inscription stored in a museum vault since the 1880s has been rediscovered in Scotland. New research now shows that the tablet includes a list of young men who took...
Iklaina: Perhaps the First City State of Mycenaean Culture

Iklaina: Was the First Greek City State of Mycenaean Culture?

Recent excavations at Iklaina, hitherto believed to be a sleepy historic village on the Peloponnesian Peninsula, have challenged the established chronology of state formation in Greece. The...
The lead curse tablet found on Mount Ebal.	Source: Michael C. Luddeni | Associates for Biblical Research (ABR)

Curse Tablet Found on Mount Ebal Suggests Early Literacy Came to Israel

One of two mountains in the West Bank, Mount Ebal occupies a special place in the hearts and mythology of the Israelites, but not in the most positive light. In advance of the entry of the Jews into...
The latest Vindolanda find on the right is a remarkable and unusual sandstone relief that may depict a god, but this is still unclear. The landscape where the latest tablet was found is shown on the right.             Source: Vindolanda Trust

Latest Vindolanda Find: A Strange Naked Man on a Carved Relief Tablet

Recent excavations at the British Roman fort of Vindolanda near Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland, England have produced a fascinating and unique artifact, according to a new announcement from the...
Clay plate discovered in Tell Jemmeh, Israel. Source: Emil Elgem / IAA.

Clay Plate Shows Brutality of War in Ancient Near East

In Israel , a six year-old boy has made an amazing discovery in the desert. He found a 3,500 year-old clay plate, that shows the brutal aftermath of a conflict in the region during the Bronze Age ...
Ancient demon. Credit: pixelleo / Adobe Stock

Mesopotamian ‘Demon of Epilepsy’ Discovered on 2700-Year-Old Tablet

A researcher studying an ancient Assyrian cuneiform tablet has found an image of a demon. The demon was believed to have been the cause of epilepsy. The tablet was used to treat health conditions,...
A dancers curse has been revealed on a Byzantine tablet.                  Source: par /Adobe Stock

Mysterious 1500-year-old Tablet Deciphered as Dancer’s Curse

An academic has finally deciphered the mysterious writings on a lead tablet after 70 years. They were shown to be a curse aimed at a dancer. The curse-tablet dates from the Byzantine era and is...
Sumerian tablets, Sumerian script is known as cuneiform. Source: Pixabay/ CC0

Sumerian Tablets: A Deeper Understanding of the Oldest Known Written Language

Ancient languages are captivating despite the fact that studying them or learning about them is a long, complex process. Of course, many students just get briefly acquainted with this subject and...
Dark demonb (Luis Louro / Adobe Stock)

Ancient Curses: Five Ways to Create Calamity in the Ancient World

Ever since the days when magic first arose, people have been looking to manipulate the world with supernatural means and divine intervention – often for positive ends, but also to punish or send...
Was the Brazil Tablet left by early Transatlantic explorers?

The Brazil Tablet: Dropped in the Jungle by Early Transatlantic Explorers?

In 1310, Malian explorers led by Mansa (King) Abubakari set sail to discover new lands across the Atlantic. A mysterious statuette was left by these ancient explorers in the Brazilian jungle...
The Royal Game of Ur.

The Enigmatic Ancient Royal Game of Ur – Will We Ever Understand It?

The Royal Game of Ur (known also as the Game of Twenty Squares) is a board game from ancient Mesopotamia. This two-player game is one of the oldest known board games and was immensely popular in the...
Colossal statue of Amenhotep III in the British Museum. (Public Domain) Background: Detail of Amarna letter: Royal Letter from Abi-milku of Tyre to the king of Egypt. (CC0)

To the King, My Sun, My God, the Breath of My Life… Amarna Letters Paint Remarkable Picture of Ancient Egyptian Rulership

“Your city weeps, and her tears are running, and there is no help for us. For 20 years we have been sending to our lord, the king, the king of Egypt, but there has not come to us a word from our lord...
A clay tablet with an engraved inscription has been discovered at the archaeological site of Olympia in Greece. It contains 13 verses of a rhapsody from Homer’s Odyssey.

Clay Tablet Found at Olympia May Be the Oldest Excerpt from Homer’s Odyssey

Archaeologists excavating the ancient site of Olympia, one of the largest archaeological sites in Greece, have found a rare and important artifact – a clay tablet inscribed with 13 verses of a...
Using Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI), this picture of the Antioch tablet was compiled. Source: Paula Artal-Isbrand, conservator at the Princeton Art Museums, with permission of Alexander Hollman

First Jewish Curse Found: Chariot Racer Hexed by Calling on Balaam’s Angel

Experts have made the remarkable discovery of a curse on a lead amulet from the Eastern Roman Empire. According to the Jerusalem Times, experts were shocked when they finally deciphered the message...
A cuneiform tablet seized from Hobby Lobby. This tablet contains economic/administrative information.

450 Stolen Sumerian Tablets are on Their Way Back to Iraq, but it is Just the Tip of the Iceberg

450 Stolen Sumerian tablets are being repatriated to Iraq with a ceremony in Washington D.C. on May 2. Many of the cuneiform texts come from a mysterious city called Irisagrig – a land from which...
A modern representation of Humbaba

Humbaba: A Monstrous Foe for Gilgamesh or a Misunderstood Guardian?

Humbaba (Huwawa) is a guardian creature found in the Epic of Gilgamesh , which is generally considered to be the earliest surviving great work of literature. Although Humbaba is traditionally...
Tablet hypothesized to be the oldest writing ever discovered.

An 8,000-year-old Slab Holds the “Oldest Writing” Ever Discovered! Or Does It?

A tiny ceramic slab dated to around 6000 BC with “written signs” has been discovered by archaeologists at a prehistoric settlement near the town of Nova Zagora in Southeast Bulgaria. And, they...
A curse tablet wrapped around a chicken bone.

Ancient Sex Curse Revealed: May Your Penis Hurt When You Make Love!

Curse tablets in the ancient world are like Facebook posts today—they were everywhere, created by almost everyone, and can still be found in the strangest of places. They could be broadly vague or...
Fragment of talisman used to exorcise the sick, Assyrian era.

Mixing Magic and Medicine: New Study Shows Mesopotamian Doctors Had to Battle Demons

Analysis of a collection of clay tablets confirms that a Mesopotamian doctor had to deal with more than just physical ailments. The ancient healer was expected to exorcise demons, ward off witchcraft...

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